I would recommend the Damptronics. You'll get a very compliant ride, but also superior handling in both non-sport and sport settings. Of course, springs will work, but if you want that perfect ride height, and the better road-feel of perfectly mated springs/shocks, I'd go with the Damptronic setup for sure.

 

[quote=Ian_UK1;2733603][quote=speed21;2732196]

+1 on the Damptronics - so far, the best mod I've made to my car.
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After the lowering I found my stock (5 spoke classics) wheels appeared to sit a touch too far inside the gaurds (particularly the rears) . I was also running 305's rear tyres. The fronts were ok as the gt3 cup lower control arms sat the wheels out nicely at the bottom but the rears looked like they could really come out 5 -10mm to fill the gaurds. My new wheel allignment of 2.1 deg neg on the front and 1.9 rear also tipped the top of the rims in a touch so that also didnt help. So a set of 5mm factory spacer kit was fitted and it made all the difference . The car sat very nicely.

 

Modern suspension systems in high-performance cars are blindingly complex - requiring lot of computer modeling work and track testing to arrive at a proper set of performance, ride and safety tradeoffs. And they are a system. A collection of integrated parts designed and tested together to yield the desired result.
So when a major part of that system is replaced, it's not surprising that you'd get a substandard result. Since excellent handling and steering feel is the cornerstone and differentiator of modern Porsche's, I'd avoid altering the suspension system unless it is replaced with another complete set of suspension system components.
So, I'd strongly recommend against springs and go with Damptronics and sway bars. It was the single best mod I've done to the car, and I've made quite a few.
This is the one downside to PASM-equipped cars. I couldn't bear with disabling the system even though there is a far wider range of non-PASM-compatible coilovers for the car. The Damptronics are excellent, but I would have preferred a greater range of choices.

 

get coils, dont do the spring setup...get KWs...I had KWs on mine and I LOVE them

 

I dunno bout that one...

Thers thems that knows and them that donts.....sorry bud .

 

i'm thinking about getting some damptronics now. Can anyone recommend an installer in Los Angels that can install these properly?? Johnsons alignment maybe??

 

ok, have decided to go with the Damptronics....so for someone using it mostly for street but occasional track days, what camber and toe settings are you guys running????...corner balancing neccesary for this type of use????

 

As for toe/camber, it really depends on your primary use of the car. For street use, you'll want to stay pretty close to (if not at) factory spec. Using a more aggressive alignment spec will cause you to eat through tires.

Corner balancing, however, is a must for street or track. Your alignment shop should be able to do it at the same time the do your alignment.

 

The control arm and mounting point in the front of the car limits some of the settings that can be made in the front (at least) of the 997S. I would look at the GT3 for preferred setting, but I doubt you'll be able to get there with the stock front end parts. On my 997S, with Damptronics, I think the most we could get was -1 deg of camber. I believe that the GT3 is about -2 - -2.5 degrees (done from memory, no flames please). I believe that this can be amended with GT3 (lower) control arms and/or updated coilover top mounting plates. I haven't gone this far yet, though I'd like to at some point.
But you haven't mentioned updating the sway bars yet - which I would do before I put in an aggressive front/rear alignment. I have the H&R bars (which I would not recommend). Either the GT3 bars or the GMG bars seem better. Looks for hollow designs (lighter) with more end settings (4 bolt holes).
OBTW, coilovers or nothing (feel free to flame here)

 

Great call, you will love them.

I had my ride height set to OEM ROW (Rest of World), and the car was corner balanced, and aligned with Porsche ROW aggressive alignment, it doesn't require any extra suspension parts. I wear flat across both front and rear tires, and my car handles very well.

 

Lucent Motorsports in West Los Angeles..they do this all the time.

Dave

 

if you have stock LCAs then your limit in camber on front axle is -1.2 or -1 degree depends of what toe you get set.

You mechanic may have his own opinion - use max negative camber in front he can set (let`s assume it is -1 degree) with 0 or 0.02 toe.

Rear axle camber should not have more than .5 difference from front so you can do on stock -1.5 degree at rear axle if front axle camber was set to -1. Use 0.10 toe on rear.

Caster is not adjustable on stock suspension.

If you invest $700 more in parts you can get 996 GT3 front LCAs and that will allow up to -3 degree of camber on front axle. Advised setting for mostly street car would be to stay within .3 degree from front to rear, like -2.3 degree front and -2 degrees rear, same toe rules - 0 on front, 0.10 on rear. On my car I was able to get only -1.9 degrees on rear with 0.10 toe, so it left me with -2.2 degrees in front by this rule, to get more negative camber in rear would require to install real GT3 LCAs.

It is pretty important to make sure mechanic uses proper weight on driver seat during alignment as it affects result quite a lot.

RonCT also advised to get rear toe links from Tarrett - apparently they keep settings much better than stock ones which may be knocked out of settings after a strong bump.

 

thx...some wise advice...I think with this car I would rather run -1.0 to -1.5...I've run -2.5 before and it can get twitchy beyond that point.

 

Congrats on the choice.

You planning on getting the work done in Portland? If so, who you planning on doing the install?

 

Can you use GT-3 control arms on a C4S?